Maybe fans in Los Angeles will discover the same.
By salvaging a split on Friday in their opening two games with the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Championship Series, the L.A. Dodgers have put themselves in position to advance to the World Series. But if they do bounce back from their Game 1 loss and down the Phillies in this NLCS, which Dodger club will show up? The one that got to October with efficient starters and a deep bullpen or the team that slugged its way into the NLCS?
Manny, the enigmatic slugger that propelled the Dodgers this season when he wasn't suspended, hit .308 in the Dodgers' NLDS sweep of St. Louis, adding three doubles, a walk and two RBIs. Andre Ethier also went deep twice, and Rafael Furcal went 6-for-12 with a pair of runs batted in.
Can the Dodgers slug their way into the World Series? It's certainly not how they reached October in the first place, but these Dodgers have a flair for the dramatic and a knack for coming up with big hits.
We in Boston know never to doubt Manny. Not in October, at least — we remember 2007, when he went deep four times in the American League playoffs, including the three-run, walk-off blast that beat the Angels in Game 2 of the ALDS. We remember 2005, when Manny went down fighting with two home runs despite the Red Sox' three-game exit from the first round. And we remember '04, when he won his first World Series MVP.
It's not out of the question that he could win another. But he's got to get there first.
After his stellar NLDS, he appeared on Thursday night to be picking up where he left off. Manny went deep in the fifth inning, blasting a two-out, two-run homer off of Cole Hamels to put L.A. back in the game. But since then, he's been silent. Dead silent.
With the Dodgers trailing in Game 1 and two chances to get back in the game, he grounded out twice. In Game 2, he went 0-for-4 with a strikeout and three popouts. He left three men on base.
Manny is a perennial October hero, but he's now hitting .111 in this series. If the Dodgers want to win this thing, they're going to need their veteran leader step up.
He's not a clubhouse leader, or a leader in the press. But on the field, he can lead by example, and that's what matters in October.
In this series, the Dodgers are trying to beat the Phillies at their own game. The best sluggers in the Senior Circuit come from Philadelphia — these Phils led the NL in runs this season and have outhomered the rest of the league two years running.
But the Dodgers, led by their World Series MVP, have a shot at this thing. Their young stars — the fourth-years Ethier, Matt Kemp and Russell Martin — have the potential to put the Dodgers in the Fall Classic. But as usual in October, it all starts with Manny.
The Dodgers aren't in an ideal position right now. If you'd asked them two days ago, they probably wouldn't have told you they wanted a split in Los Angeles. Now they fly cross-country to Philly, and if they can't win on the road now, they're in trouble.
But L.A. is still in this thing — very much so. They just need to turn the bats on, and that all starts with the man who's carried a team in October many times before. All eyes on Manny.
